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Leading Differently—Showing the Way in a Diverse and Changing World

The world is in desperate need of a new leadership model. That’s the message Ken Blanchard will be sharing as he brings together a diverse group of thought leaders for his company’s Leading Differently conference in San Diego next month. Over 150 executives from around the world will join Blanchard to explore leading differently in a world that is more diverse, dispersed, and being asked to do more with less.

Executives from leading companies in the US, Canada, and Europe will be sharing stories of how they have successfully met these challenges through development programs that teach leaders how to co-create, co-design, and collaborate more effectively.

That’s the type of leader Blanchard believes is needed to effectively turn the organizational pyramid upside down. As he explains, “We’ve seen the negative result of self-serving leadership where all the money, power, and recognition moves up the hierarchy. Self-serving leaders think that leadership is all about them and not about the best interests of the people they serve. They forget about acting with respect, care, and fairness for all involved.”

Blanchard’s dream is that someday everyone will know someone who is leading at a higher level. Self-serving leaders will be a thing of the past and leadership around the world will be composed of people who, as Robert Greenleaf said, “Serve first and lead second.”

Helping Blanchard spread the word will be several best-selling business authors each sharing a unique perspective on leading in today’s world.

Liz Wiseman, author of Multipliers, will be sharing her research into the traits of leaders who “multiply” the talents of the people they serve. She will also look at some of the ways that leaders accidentally diminish the performance of direct reports through behaviors they may be unaware of.

Dr. Henry Cloud, clinical psychologist and bestselling author of Boundaries for Leaders, will share how saying “no” to some priorities allows leaders to better say “yes” to others. Cloud will look at how human behavior, neuroscience, and business leadership can come together to improve performance and increase employee and customer satisfaction.

Matthew Emerzian, author of Every Monday Matters will explore the impact that one person can have in this world. Drawing on his own liberating experience of spending one day a week in service to others, Emerzian will share how small, seemingly inconsequential acts of service can have a big impact in your own life and the lives of others.

Are you ready to serve?

In his book, The Secret: What Great Leaders Know—And Do, Ken Blanchard, along with co-author Mark Miller outline five areas a serving leader of the future needs to excel at. How would you assess your leadership in these five areas?

See the Future. Leadership is about taking people from one place to another. What is your team’s purpose? Where do you want your team to be in five years? How many members of your team could clearly explain the group’s purpose and goal to others?

Engage and Develop Your People. Once vision and direction are set, a leader’s job is to turn the hierarchal pyramid upside down so everyone is focused on helping those closest to the customer. How are you encouraging the development of your people? To what extent have you successfully engaged each member of your team? What have you done to suggest to your people that when it comes to implementation activities, you work for them?

Reinvent Continuously. Great leaders don’t rest on their laurels. How often do you review: How can we do the work better? How can we do it for less? What systems or processes can we change to enhance performance?

Value Results and Relationships. Serving leadership requires a balanced approach to results and people—it’s not an either/or question. To what degree do you have high expectations for both results and relationships? How many of your people would say that you have made a significant investment in their lives? What are the ways that you have expressed appreciation for work well done in the last 30 days?

Embody the Values. In today’s age of transparency, being bold enough to lead others requires authenticity and trust. Do people know where you stand, what they can expect from you, and what you expect from them? How well do your daily activities align with your personal values?

Review these five areas often, (you’ll see that the first letter of each factor spells SERVE to help you remember.) Continually doing a good job in each of these areas is a significant task—don’t be too tough on yourself if you see a couple of areas for improvement. Every step you take in this direction will bring you closer to leading at a higher level. Get started today!

4 thoughts on “Leading Differently—Showing the Way in a Diverse and Changing World”

Everything I need to know about leadership I learned from my daughter.
Well …., Blanchard is a wealth of knowledge too, but she’s been the selected captain of every softball team she’s played on since she was 10. Last year she played on a NCAA University team, a Senior Ladies Team and a Junior all star team. Interestingly she’s a catcher. In warm-up catchers get the pitchers ready, they call the pitch selection during the games and they are also called on to be amateur sports psychologists. On all 3 teams the pitchers, who struggled on their other teams, won big awards while working with my daughter. She didn’t get left out though, her gold medal from the Canadian Summer Games looks pretty sweet.

The first year she went to university as a freshman she took a sign for her dorm room:
If you want something bad enough you’ll find a way, if not you’ll find excuses.

The second year she made her own sign:
Leaders are dealers in hope.

It took me a while to wrap my mind around it.
Hint: read year 2 then year 1
Her teams have been involved in some epic comebacks.